1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates in general to packaging material formulations, and more particularly, to a plurality of film structures for packaging, which film structures can be formed into bags, sacks, containers, wraps and the like for packaging food and other goods. While not limited thereto, the film structures are well suited for use in association with hot food items, such as hot sandwiches and the like.
2. Background Art
The Packaging material formulations for different products is well known in the art. Often, and especially for hot food items (such as sandwiches and the like), which US FDA requires maintenance of food temperature above 140 F prior to serving, a common formulation of a packaging material comprises a paper outer substrate having an inner foil liner. The foil may be utilized for direct food contact, or, a layer (resin, wax or the like) may be applied over the foil.
Problematically, such a construction is not well suited for recycling or for composting. Specifically, while the paper outer substrate may be suitably degrade, the inner foil liner is unsuitable for composting or paper recycling. Thus, other, more expensive and often economically unfeasible methods would be required to recycle the packaging. Additionally, where such packaging is improperly discarded, the product will not generally disintegrate, and will remain an eyesore for years. Finally, such a product is often relegated to a garbage dump wherein it is buried underground for decades.
It would be advantageous to devise and utilize packaging material which has performance characteristics that are suitable for use in association with food items, including hot food items, such as sandwiches, while also having characteristics that are well suited for paper recycling and commercial or industrial composting, while maintaining the superior radiant barrier property of aluminum foil. Radiant barrier is quantitatively measured with an Emissometer, for which the silver standard is 0.05 units and the black standard is 0.87 units. Both aluminum foil and vacuum metallized aluminum products exhibit good radiant barrier with an emissivity range of 0.05 units to 0.15 units, compared to white papers, which exhibit an emissivity of approximately 0.75 units to 0.85 units.